Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Dragon Slayer
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My conversation with Hysteria had gone successfully.
He had no choice but to accept my proposal in the end.
Even I wouldn't have been able to refuse. Opportunities to catch Gunter didn't come around often, after all.
Siegfried snorted as he asked,
"You're more impressive than I thought. How do you not back down even once against a guy like that? He looked ready to chop your head off if things went south."
I walked slowly through the rose garden in the center of the courtyard as I replied.
"He absolutely wouldn't have. Brother doesn't kill anyone without solid justification."
"Yeah? He just looked like a straight-up murderer to me. Especially when he licked the blood off his blade... Wow, I never imagined one of my descendants would turn out like that!"
Hysteria was indeed a murderer.
But the targets of his madness were limited.
He only showed his frenzy against those the family had clearly marked as 'enemies.' He wouldn't just snap out of nowhere and swing his sword without reason.
Of course.
He'd cut down anyone not family without mercy.
"Really? I heard even you were called a demon on the battlefield, Sword God."
"That's different! I got called a demon because of my skills. That guy earlier? He's genuinely lost his mind."
"Sure, sure."
To the people on the receiving end, it probably all felt the same.
"By the way, when are you planning to snag your second Guardian Spirit?"
"Second Guardian Spirit?"
"Yeah, the castle seemed empty today. Why not sneak into the warehouse and smash another jar? Plenty of usable ones in there."
A second Guardian Spirit. It wouldn't hurt to move quickly before someone else claimed one.
I waved my hand through the air to push Siegfried away, then continued walking through the garden.
"I'm not getting one from inside the castle."
"Why not?"
"No one suitable."
"Then where?"
Ever since bringing Siegfried along, I'd been thinking nonstop about my next Guardian Spirit.
Who would mesh best with me? It hadn't taken long to arrive at an answer.
In my previous life, the Guardian Spirits' master had vanished when I was young, so I never even got to see them.
A Guardian Spirit on par with the Sword God Siegfried.
"Sword God, do you know who the strongest mage in history was?"
"Strongest mage?"
"Yes. The one who waged a hundred-year war against the Strange family in the past."
"The Hundred Years' War."
"The monster called the greatest of all time."
"Half-human, half-beast. Half-human, half-beast?!"
Siegfried's eyes widened as he jabbed a finger at me.
"No way."
"Brunhilt von Glazer."
"?!"
"The founding head of the magical Glazer family. How about bringing her on as my second Guardian Spirit?"
The night I resolved to acquire my second Guardian Spirit.
I slipped out of the castle in secret.
Dodging the guard knights was a breeze. Not only were the castle grounds and nearby roads all laid out in my mind like an open book, I even knew the hidden passages and paths the average guard wouldn't dream of. No way I'd get caught.
"But do you even know who Brunhilt is?"
As if I wouldn't.
She was the one called the Strange family's greatest enemy.
"Of course. My nanny drilled it into me as a kid. She showed up in every fairy tale she read."
"Fairy tales?"
"Yeah. 'The great ancestors of the Strange family finally defeated the demon Brunhilt! And so, peace came to the continent!'"
Siegfried shook his head.
"...What a load of crap. Does it make sense that killing Brunhilt brought peace?"
"Why not?"
"That woman was a demon, sure, and had a temper. But she wasn't a villain."
"You talk like you've met her."
"I did! More than met—we fought."
"Liar. Brunhilt died before you were even born."
Siegfried's face twisted in anger as he grew massive, flames roaring.
I was stunned.
My jaw wouldn't close. It was the first I'd heard of it.
A secret from his previous life he hadn't shared.
Or maybe not a secret? He was spilling it so easily now.
Well.
Back then, I hadn't even asked.
I wasn't curious about Siegfried's Guardian Spirit. We barely talked at all. He spent every day raging that teaching me was an insult.
Of course, after I entered the academy, he acknowledged my talent and taught me eagerly.
But before that, 'stupid brat!' was practically his catchphrase.
"So, Master, you learned swordsmanship from Brunhilt?"
"You think that makes sense? She's a mage. A mage. She didn't know swords."
"Then why'd you choose her as your Guardian Spirit?"
"...There were circumstances."
Siegfried gazed into the distance, lost in memory, then grimaced and clenched his fists.
Crunch.
A reaction that screamed something bad had happened.
"Anyway, drop it. Can't you just pick another Guardian Spirit?"
"Why?"
"We don't get along. Put us together, and I might run off."
I shook my head firmly.
"Don't talk nonsense. Guardian Spirits can't leave without the contractor's permission."
"..."
"And whatever happened between you two, I've already decided to bring Brunhilt."
Siegfried let out a long sigh and nodded slightly.
He wasn't objecting strongly, so probably no major issues between them.
"By the way, do you even know where Brunhilt is? She's not the type to stay put like me."
"No, I don't."
"What? You don't know?"
"Nope."
Of course not.
No one knew Brunhilt's whereabouts—not even the Stranges or the Glazers.
"Wait—you're trying to recruit her without knowing where she is?!"
"Yes, but I can find her."
"How?"
"Her descendants are in this forest. Using their power, we can track her down quick."
"Her descendants... You mean the Glazers?"
I shook my head lightly.
"Would I come all the way out here in the dead of night to meet mages? And this is Strange territory, not Glazer."
"Then..."
Siegfried exclaimed as realization dawned.
"You're insane."
His reaction was perfectly natural.
The one I was here to meet wasn't human—but the lord of this forest.
"Yeah. If I were sane, I wouldn't have come."
The forest shrouded in darkness was incredibly dangerous.
Not just wild beasts, but monsters lurked everywhere.
Yet there were those who stirred at this hour.
A group in white cloaks prowled the woods like starved hounds while everyone else slept.
At least a dozen by rough count, moving silently with suppressed presence.
"Found it?"
A young man with a crescent moon tattoo on his forehead asked. An old man with a bushy beard nodded faintly.
"Yes, Young Master Edward."
Edward von Glazer.
Heir to the Glazer family, lords of the continent's east and famed magical dynasty.
A genius who graduated the academy at just fifteen, a supernova said to be rivaled only by the family head, 'Hagen,' among mages.
"Location?"
"Roughly 500 meters northwest. Seems to be hunting prey—it's starving."
"How many?"
"One. Moving alone."
"Certain?"
"Yes. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"...Finally, our chance."
"We should move fast before it rejoins the pack."
"Then let's not delay. This is Strange territory."
"Yes, Young Master."
At Edward's gesture, the apparent mages moved in perfect unison.
Like migratory birds shifting formation with the terrain.
They soon arrived where the forest's lord, the Giant Ogre, roamed.
Unlike regular ogres, the Giant Ogre was a mutant with three heads and strength that could pulverize a normal ogre in one punch or take on a company of 3-star knights single-handed—a monster of monstrous power.
Yet the gathered mages showed no fear.
Instead, they fanned out in a circle at the sight of their target, readying for battle.
As if they'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"Don't kill it. Capture alive."
Thud thud thud.
Edward charged the Giant Ogre without hesitation.
"1st Platoon, bindings! 2nd Platoon, cast confusion spells!"
"Impact Chain!"
Mana-forged chains bind limbs
"Chaos Smoke!"
Gray mist obscures vision
Shrrrrk!
Mana chains instantly bound the Giant Ogre's arms and legs, immobilizing it. Gray mist followed, shrouding its faces and blinding it.
-Roooaaarrr!
The Giant Ogre thrashed wildly, but the chains thickened and the mist grew denser.
The more it resisted, the stronger the magic tightened—curses, not standard spells.
Every mage here had unlocked at least 5th-circle mana.
Blue smoke coiled from Edward's hands, freezing into a massive longbow with a crack!
He drew a deep breath and aimed unerringly at the Giant Ogre's chest.
Bang!
The ice arrow streaked like a fish through water, piercing the ogre's chest.
Crunch!
"Groooaaah!"
The hunt ended in a flash.
For all its brute strength, the Giant Ogre was helpless against magic.
It wasn't weak. The mages were just that strong.
The mages rushed to check the Giant Ogre's vitals.
A middle-aged mage confirmed its pulse and breathing, then spoke meaningfully.
"Young Master, success."
Edward pumped his fist, grinning brightly.
"Well done. Sorry to keep you in this forest for a month on my account."
"Nonsense! Just doing our duty."
The middle-aged man stepped back, clasping his hands and bowing deeply.
As they spoke, the lower mages secured the Giant Ogre with mana chains.
They rejoiced as much as the month they'd spent for this moment.
Once done, they forced the beast upright.
Rumble.
Edward, watching, raised his voice.
"Everyone, back to base for a toast!"
The hunting mages clapped in celebration.
But his joy lasted only an instant.
As they cheered, a purple pillar crashed from the sky.
Boom!
A blond boy appeared from nowhere, seizing Edward's back and pressing a blade to his throat.
Slice.
"That's far enough. Anyone so much as twitches a finger... and this one's head rolls."